Chapter 12 #3
Goose was waiting for them in the computer lab.
Personally, Keys would have thought Jigsaw would have enjoyed what he’d set up more, but he couldn’t involve his club brothers in this.
Maybe someday, but they were still hurting.
Grumpy and Ranger each had a long road ahead of them to recovery, and Keys would not add to their stress.
At least Tom was pretending to be blind, deaf, and stupid to what was going on inside the building these days. Keys’ club brothers would not.
Three monitors were set up with three different POV feeds in front of three comfy gaming chairs, three controllers, and for good measure, a snack bar and energy drink buffet.
The modified tablet interfaces were custom built, each one linked to the sensor rig on its corresponding subject.
The property behind the MKSS building had never been developed.
Keys had bought it for a steal, since the entire area was going into foreclosure by a developer who ran out of cash before he was able to break ground.
Since Keys liked the seclusion it offered, and why chop down a forest unnecessarily, the land had remained as it had been purchased. Untouched by man—until tonight.
Keys let out a long sigh, his hands on his hips. “Is it wrong of me to feel such pride in this moment?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what’s scarier,” Goose responded. “What you created here or the punch bowl of gummy worms behind me.”
Rose giggled, and leaned over to take Keys’ hand. “This is incredible. LARPing has never been this appealing.”
“Isn’t safety, like, a big thing in LARPing?” Goose inquired with a raised eyebrow.
“I am happy to offer them protection,” Keys said sardonically. Walking to his chair, he pulled it out and took a seat. “If they answer my questions.”
Rose took the station to his left, and Goose took the one to his right.
“Ground rules,” Keys said, pulling up the feeds.
Three rectangles of darkness flickered to life on the monitors as the headset cameras activated, showing three different views of the same tree line behind the building.
The three captured men were out there with Grimm and Thorne.
The headsets adhered to their heads by epoxy glue projected each controller—Keys, Rose, and Goose—an uninhibited view of their Player’s vision.
“They stay breathing. Everything else is a judgment call.”
Goose nodded once.
“You know when you told me you wanted to play video games with me, I had no idea this was what you had in mind,” Rose said with an excited smile. She already had her headset on her head.
Keys winked at her. “I’m full of surprises, baby.” Rose laughed quickly, and then Keys opened the comms channel. His voice went out through the three Players’ earwigs simultaneously.
“Welcome, gentlemen, to Keys’ Live Action Grand Theft Autonomy Jamboree!
I’m sure you’re wondering just what the fuck is going on.
You’re lucky I’m in a mood to show off for my girl, so I’ll tell you.
Attached to each of your bodies is approximately forty thousand dollars’ worth of custom neuromuscular stimulation technology, which means that for the next few hours, your bodies belong to me.
” He paused, letting that news settle. “For those of you who doubt me, let me demonstrate.” Picking up his controller, he expertly pressed the sequence that forced his Player to execute a standing jump kick.
“What the fuck?!” immediately could be heard over all their headsets. While the Players could only hear Keys if he turned their comms on, Keys, Rose, Goose, Thorne, and Grimm could hear each other as well as what each Player said at all times.
“The good news, gentlemen,” Keys continued, bringing his Player back in line with the other two, “is that this can end very quickly. The bad news is that entirely depends on you.”
The amount of cursing that filled the line made Keys hit the button in front of his monitor that turned on the probes attached to each Player’s lower back. And like getting hit by a taser, all three went down, their cursing turning into moans of pain.
“The rules are simple, gentlemen. Your bodies are no longer your own. The weapons you have on you are very real, and yet you can’t use a single one without the permission of your controller. Say ‘hello’ to your Player,” Keys encouraged Rose and Goose.
“‘sup,” Goose said like they were meeting at a bar.
“Hello.” There was a sweetness to Rose’s voice that was as terrifying as it was misleading.
“Player 2, you should know Rose. After all, it was her sister you and your comrades were sent to capture.” For good measure, Rose made her Player punch himself in the face.
Keys had to fight to keep his composure.
“Our mission is to find and retrieve the candy bar one of your oh-so helpful handlers has hidden for us somewhere in the woods. Now, you might be wondering ‘how do I protect myself?’ Well, that is a very reasonable and responsible question when LARPing. Just as with most games, there are checkpoints throughout. At these points, your controller will ask you a question, and should you answer in a satisfactory manner, you can earn certain rewards, such as a water bottle, bandages, more ammo, and I believe there are two bulletproof vests in Keys’ Vault of Honesty.
“Any questions?” he asked the group as a whole. When no one spoke up, other than more cursing from the Players, Keys smiled. “Great! Let’s get started.”
* * *
Controller 1: [marches Player 1 north into the tree line]
Player 1: [stumbles, catches himself, looks at his own legs] The fuck! No, wait! I’ll talk! Stop! I’ll talk!
Controller 1: [continues north]
Player 1: [forced to continue] Stop! STOP!
* * *
Controller 2: [marches Player 2 east]
Player 2: [tries to plant feet, fails] What is this? What is this?!
Controller 2: [pauses Player 2]
Player 2: [breathing hard, body frozen]
Controller 2: [resumes east]
* * *
Controller 3: [marches Player 3 west at a leisurely pace]
Player 3: [looks left, looks right] Hello? Is anyone—ouch! Shit!
Player 3: [trips over root, catches himself]
Controller 3: [stops Player 3]
Player 3: [frozen, tries to move but can’t]
Controller 3: [makes Player 3 look up at the sky]
Player 3: [looks up] This is so fucked up! Why am I looking at the sky?
Controller 3: [resumes west]
* * *
Handler 1: [flashes light] Congratulations. You are the first to make it to Checkpoint One.
Player 2: [jolts slightly] Fuck! Shit! Okay, okay! She says to say ‘ask me your questions, Bridge Keeper, I am not afraid.’
Handler 1: [snorts] Player 2, Kennedy’s operation continued while he was in prison. Who was running it?
* * *
Controller 1: [curses] She beat me to Checkpoint One. Smart lass.
Player 1: [starts moving faster] Motherfucker! Dude, I am not a runner! Stop making me run!
Controller 1: [stops Player 1 by Player 2]
Player 2: [stands immobile] This is so fucked up! I’m not saying jack shit!
Controller 1: [over open comms] Need I remind you that that box you see is Keys’ Vault of Honesty. It contains things you might find useful in the next hour. You are currently in a safe zone because we’re at a Checkpoint. Outside this immediate area, you’re fair game, my friend.
Player 2: [silence]
Hander 1: [flashes light in face] Player 2?
Player 2: [spits on ground] Go to hell.
Controller 2: [forces Player 2 to start walking away] Your funeral, but I am not losing! I want my candy bar!
Player 1: [lands on knees] HEY! The fuck, man!?
Handler 1: [kicks Vault of Honesty] Same question, Player 1. Who was running Kennedy’s operation while he was in prison?
Player 1: [struggling] Can I… Shit, can I see if that vest is in there?
Handler 1: [sounding bored] No.
Player 1: [groans] Fuck. Shit. No! I ain’t talkin’, man! I don’t care if you make my body do shit, you can’t make me talk.
Handler 1: [laughs] The night’s still young.
* * *
Player 3: [stumbles in the dark] What the fuck, man! You got us lost!
* * *
Controller 3: [finally reaches Checkpoint Two]
Handler 2: [flashes light]
Player 3: [jolts] SHIT. Okay. Okay, hi. Hello. What do I need to do and please tell me you have a map in that fucking thing! Whoever is controlling me keeps walking me into fucking streams and bushes with thorns! I have a pinecone stuck in my boot that he won’t let me fix!
Handler 2: [kicks Vault of Honesty] Kennedy’s operation continued while he was in prison. Who was running it?
Player 3: [looks at box, looks at Handler 2, looks at box again] ...is that a dinosaur wearing a cowboy hat?
Handler 2: [says nothing]
Player 3: [sighs] Corrigan. Agent Talbot Corrigan. He oversees the offices in the Midwest. The others probably wouldn’t know him or his name, but he visited my field office once and I have a thing for faces.
Handler 2: [reaches into Vault, produces water bottle] You’re a U.S. Marshal?
Player 3: [takes bottle] Do I get another prize if I answer that?
Handler 2: [pulls out granola bar]
Player 3: [groans but nods] Former. Got caught drinking on the job, which was why Kennedy hired me.
Handler 2: [hands Player 3 granola bar]
Controller 3: [over open comms] Player 3 is very cooperative. I'm going to need a bigger challenge.
Player 3: [mouth full] You’re making my legs work against my will in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night and you want a bigger challenge?!
Controller 3: [resumes marching Player 3 west]
[gunshot rings out]
Player 3: [goes down] Shit! Fuck! Motherfucker! I’ve been shot!
* * *
Controller 1: Nice shot. Where’d you get him?
Controller 2: In the leg.
Controller 1: [checks feed] ...carry on.
Player 3: [screaming in agony] WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK!
* * *
Controller 2: [marches Player 2 deeper into the eastern section]
Player 2: [stumbling] You made me shoot him! Holy fuck, lady? I thought it was going to be a rubber bullet or a paintball!